Ghana’s Finance Ministry outlines its source of funding to fix the depreciating cedi

03/14/2019

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Ken Ofori Atta

The government of Ghana is doing everything to stabilise the cedi.

The local currency has depreciated more than 8.5 percent this year.

The government plans to inject some cash into the economy.

The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has assured Ghanaians the government is doing all it can to stabilise the cedi in a couple of weeks.

He said that the government is expecting some fresh injection of capital to help stabilise the cedi.

Speaking to the media Ken Ofori-Atta mentioned the sources of the money they expect to inject into the economy.

“We have about $300 million coming in from COCOBOD and another $600 million also from COCOBOD in about a month or so. We have officially launched our Eurobond which will be $3 billion and that should close within the next couple of weeks.”

“Foreign exchange is a price which means it is demand and supply and what I am saying is that the resources that we are going after; $300 million, $600 million and another $750 million and 3 billion and [I think] we should be okay. And all of this should happen within the next two or so weeks,” he added.

He admitted that the challenge of governments over time has been how to structurally balance imports and exports.

According to him Ghana must develop strategies that will change its dependence on imports “or else we will always be battling – it doesn’t matter the government.”

The cedi has depreciated against the dollar from GHc 4.9 to over GHc 5.5 since the turn of the year sparking concern in the business community, among others.

Before Nana Akufo-Addo won election 2016 and was sworn in as president, he and his Vice Presidential candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia chastised the then government of poor economic management.

They promised to turn things around when they win the election.

However, President Nana Akufo-Addo recently said the depreciation of the cedi has left him “extremely upset and anxious”.

Author:
Magdalene Teiko Larnyoh
Source:
Pulse Ghana

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